When Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune premiered in Paris in 1894, Claude Debussy became the talk of the town, his unique orchestration and harmonic language coining the term “musical impressionism”. Camille Saint-Saëns’s Violin Concerto No.3 was written specifically for Spanish virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate. The romantic work’s fine orchestration has made it a perennial favorite. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed his Marche Slav motivated by patriotic fervor, elevating the orchestra into a dramatic force. Sergie Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No.2 is another iconic Russian work tinged with seriousness and intellect. It was the last work he composed while living in exile.